How to Create a Follow-Up Sequence

Summary

Overview: A follow-up sequence is a schedule of messages that nudges leads who have gone quiet. You set the steps, the channel and the wait before each one. Pippin writes every message from the live conversation when it is due. A reply, a booked meeting or an opt-out stops the sequence straight away.

Prerequisites:

• You are the Admin of the workspace.
• The channels you plan to use are connected under Settings › Channels (Gmail or Zoho Mail for email steps, Twilio for SMS and WhatsApp steps, a Facebook Page for Messenger steps).

How Pippin Decides

1. When a step is due, Pippin reads the whole conversation and writes the message. Your optional step instruction (for example "mention the promo ends Friday") shapes it.
2. Pippin sends the step on the channel you chose. If the lead can't be reached there, it tries the lead's own channel, then email, then SMS.
3. Messenger and WhatsApp only allow a message within 24 hours of the lead's last message. When that window has closed, the step goes out on another channel the lead has, or the sequence stops if there is none.
4. If a step promises a price or a date Pippin couldn't find in your knowledge, it waits in the Review Queue instead of sending.
5. Steps only go out inside your follow-up sending window. A step that comes due outside it waits for the next opening.
6. After the last step, the sequence waits for a reply for the time you set (2 days unless you change it). Nothing more is sent during the wait. A reply ends the sequence without marking the lead lost.
7. If no reply comes in time, the sequence ends and Pippin either marks the lead as lost or ends quietly, depending on your setting. If the lead has a quote waiting in the Review Queue, the end is held for a while to give your team time to deal with it.

Limits

• Up to 10 sequences per workspace, and up to 12 steps per sequence.
• Each wait, including the wait after the final step, is at least 1 hour and at most 30 days.
• A step instruction can be up to 500 characters. A sequence name can be up to 120 characters.
• SMS and WhatsApp steps send only on the Growth plan and up. On a plan without them, those steps fall through to another channel.
• Follow-up messages are not held by Review every reply. They still send on their own.
• Only the Admin can create, edit, turn on or off, or delete sequences. Sales Managers and Sales Reps see the page read-only.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Open Sequences

1. In the left menu, click Sequences.
2. The page is titled Follow-Up Sequences.
3. Click New sequence. If you have no sequences yet, you can also click Create your first sequence.

Step 2: Name the sequence and choose the ending

1. In Name, type a name, for example "7 Attempts to Qualify".
2. In After the final step, choose:
   • Mark the lead as lost, or
   • End quietly (the lead keeps its stage).
3. Next to if there is no reply within, enter a number and choose hours or days. New sequences start at 2 days. The note under it reads: Counted from the last step. A reply during the wait ends the sequence without marking the lead lost.

Step 3: Add the steps

1. For each step, choose the channel: Email, SMS, Messenger or WhatsApp.
2. Next to after, enter a number and choose hours or days. Each step waits this long after the previous message.
3. Optional: type an instruction for this message, for example "mention the promo ends Friday".
4. Click + Add Step for another step.
5. Use the up and down arrows to reorder steps, and the bin icon to remove one. A sequence needs at least one step.
6. Under a Messenger or WhatsApp step, read the note about the 24-hour window. An orange note means the step comes too late for that channel and will usually go out another way.

About the first step's wait:

• For leads the default sequence enrolls automatically, the first wait is how long a lead must stay quiet after your last message before the sequence starts. The first message then goes out at once.
• When you start a sequence for a lead yourself, the first message goes out right away.

Step 4: Save

1. Click Save sequence.
2. A message confirms "Sequence saved."
3. Your first sequence becomes the default automatically (a filled star and a Default label). The default is the one Pippin uses for automatic follow-ups. See How to Choose the Default Sequence.

Step 5: Edit, turn off or delete a sequence

• To change it, click Edit on its card, make your changes and click Save sequence.
• To stop a sequence from being used without deleting it, turn off its switch. The card then shows a Disabled label.
• To delete it, click the bin icon. A window titled Delete sequence reads Delete “…”? Active follow-ups using it stop immediately. This cannot be undone. For the default sequence it adds It is your default sequence, so automatic follow-up stops until you make another one the default. Click Delete sequence to confirm, or Cancel. A message confirms "Sequence deleted."

You can also ask Pippify Coach to turn a sequence on or off. Coach can't create, edit or delete sequences.

Verify It Worked

Success criteria:

• The new sequence appears as a card on the Sequences page.
• The card shows a summary of the steps and the ending, for example 3 steps · email→SMS→email · marks lost after 2 days of silence, or · ends after 2 days of silence when you chose End quietly.
• The switch on the card is on, and the card has no Disabled label.

Troubleshooting

Common errors

• Save sequence is greyed out: the name is empty, a step has no wait, or the wait after the final step is empty. Fix: fill in the name and give every step, and if there is no reply within, a number above 0.
• "You can have at most 10 sequences. Delete one first.": Fix: delete a sequence you no longer use.
• "Only client admins can manage sequences.": you are not the Admin. Fix: ask your Admin to make the change.
• "Could not save the sequence.": Fix: try again. If it keeps failing, contact support.
• "Couldn't load your sequences.": the page couldn't load. Fix: click Retry.

Limitations & considerations

• A wait longer than 30 days is saved as 30 days.
• Sequences saved before 10/13/2026 wait 2 days after the final step until you change it.
• Editing a sequence affects leads already on it from their next step.
• New sequences only pick up leads who go quiet after the sequence was created. Older quiet leads are not enrolled automatically.

Next Steps & Related Resources

• Next steps:
  • How to Choose the Default Sequence
  • How to Set the Follow-Up Sending Window
  • How to Put Leads on a Sequence
• Related articles:
  • How to See Who Is on a Sequence and Why It Stopped
  • How to Turn a Schedule in a Guidance Rule Into a Sequence
  • When Follow-Ups Are Sent (Sending Window)
  • Why Didn't My Follow-Up Go Out?

Need more help? For more information and assistance, please send an email to support@pippify.ai.

Last Updated: 10/15/2026